He lifted his gaze to her. She could see all the pain in his eyes, all the misery of the previous two years. At the same time, she could see all the love he had for his sister, all the hope that was and could never be extinguished because he wouldn’t allow it to be.
“I am so fortunate to have you by my side, Lydia,” he told her, his words trailing off as if he didn’t have the strength or the courage to express them until the very end.
“There is nowhere else I would rather be,” she replied, unable to take her eyes off of him.
She could see him nearing her. Her heart was now booming inside her ears. She could hear nothing but the beating of her own frantic heart as Edwin was leaning to kiss her again, but before he could do that, they both heard a noise then a loud girly giggle.
They both looked in the direction of the bench, noticing a young couple. The girl was laughing, teasing the man, who followed her like a lovelorn puppy.
“Come nah, Adelaide,” the man beckoned. “Do not run away from me…”
“If you want me, you need to catch me, Peter,” she teased, running in the opposite direction, away from the bench. The man kept on following her. A moment later, they were gone. Obviously, neither of them was the person Edwin and Lydia had been waiting for.
Minutes felt like hours. After what seemed to be an entire eternity spent in silence and watchful gazing, Edwin sighed.
“It is getting too late,” he pointed out. “I cannot risk having you here, with me.”
“I am not returning without you,” she said stubbornly. “I hope you are not endeavoring to get rid of me and solve this mystery on your own.”
“I would not dream of it,” he assured her, obviously amused by her utter unwillingness to be sent off home. “I am merely thinking of your reputation, which you must admit, is not the safest here, right now.”
She had to admit that he was right. They had already risked far too much by waiting.
“I shall send for my footman to come here, and we shall return with the carriage,” he suggested.
“Is he to be trusted?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” he assured her. “He shall remain here in our place to watch the letter and inform us if anyone will show up. As for you and me, we shall return in the morning.”
“All right,” she said, finally appeased with his suggestion.
To be quite honest, she did not want to leave, not after all the effort they had taken and all the time they had already spent here. However, he was right. Not even the fact that they were supposedly courting would be a good enough reason to be caught dallying in the middle of the night. Her reputation would be ruined. Even with all her desire to solve mysteries, she did not wish to tarnish her family name with such a scandal.
That was why she allowed Edwin to lead her out of the park and towards his carriage. Within half an hour, she snuck into her home with Susannah’s help, of course, and momentarily, she jumped into bed. She doubted she would be able to sleep, but at least, here she was safe. Safe from having her reputation ruined and safe from having her heart be broken.
CHAPTER21
Edwin actually considered going back on his word and returning to the park, but he gave Lydia a promise. That promise helped him stay calm throughout the night, even though his heart raced, and his mind didn’t allow him a moment without thinking about what might be happening at the park, without him present.
As soon as it was daybreak, he rushed downstairs, asking one of the servant girls if George, his footman, had returned. She nodded, saying that he had just arrived.
“Do send him to my study at once!” Edwin demanded, flying back upstairs, crossing two stairs as he did so.
He lunged through the door like a madman, leaving it open. He was calm all night. He didn’t know how, but now, he could not control himself any longer. He had to know what happened, and why George had returned since he was given strict orders to remain there until someone showed up.
… until someone showed up!
That was when it hit him. The reason George had returned was obvious. Someone did show up!
Even though he was in the middle of his room, he rushed back to the open door, and in the process, almost stumbled onto George, who was on the way in. George immediately mumbled his apology, wringing his hat in his hands.
“That is quite all right, George,” Edwin assured him, allowing him in. “Tell me what happened last night. Did someone come for the letter?”
“Yes, Your Grace,” George nodded.
Edwin’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He couldn’t believe that he would finally find out who kidnapped Rachel. He would be able to ask him where she was, and if he was fortunate enough, he would be able to find her and bring her home where she belonged.
“Some urchin came for the letter,” George continued, standing in the middle of the room as if he were being interrogated for something he had done. But Edwin was beyond politeness at this point. “He couldn’t ‘ave been a boy of more than ten, I reckon.”